Periodicals

There are 1834 titles (over 45,000 items) in our periodicals collection. It includes newspapers, magazines and newsletters from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Indonesia and Japan. The Ladder and Physique magazines are on display, while William and John and the Star Observer have been microfiched by the State Library of New South Wales.

We welcome feedback on our list through our comments form (pdf) or by email to mail@alga.org.au.

Indexes to some of our periodicals are available for reference at the Archives: see our list of indexed titles (pdf). Recent additions include Lesbian News (Melbourne, 1983-90), plus additional issues of Campaign (1980), Libertine (nos 1-7, 1980) and Lesbians on the Loose (issues 1-16, 25-29 and all issues in 1998-99).

Audio

Tapes dating back to mid 1950s, radio broadcasts, conferences, speeches at public meetings and demonstrations, interviews on all types of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues … if it has been said and recorded, there is a chance we might have it.

We also hold a listing of papers delivered at the Australian Homosexual Histories conferences (pdf, 94KB). The Archives initiated the annual Australian Homosexual Histories conference series in 1998. The list here is a summary of papers and presentations at the conferences, with indications of whether we hold a copy, and if published, where. We would welcome receiving copies of papers not currently held – please contact us. We’re grateful to Anton for preparing the list as a volunteer project.

Like the other collections in the Archives, books are available for reference, but not for loan. If you’re looking to borrow a title in our collection, you may be able to find a copy in the National Library’s Trove database. It lists public library holdings across Australia. Many are available for inter-library loan.

Articles

Our collection of articles (over 1200 at present) are mostly copies of published articles from periodicals or chapters from books that we don’t otherwise hold.

We also have significant groups of articles in some of our manuscript collections. For example, the papers of Ken Sinclair (1927-2005) include over 300 articles arising from his work, as priest and researcher, on the Catholic Church and homosexuality, on pastoral care by the Catholic Church for people with HIV/AIDS, and on HIV/AIDS in general. The papers of Ian Goller (1943-1993) include about 250 articles relating to his work as a researcher and educator in the community response to HIV/AIDS in Australia, through the Victorian AIDS Action Committee (later Victorian AIDS Council / Gay Men’s Health Center) and the Victorian Health Department. Guides to both of these collections are available for use by researchers at the Archives.

Manuscripts

Highlights include the records of Society Five (Melbourne’s first gay rights organisation), the National Homosexual Conferences of the 1970s and 1980s, and the Homosexual Law Reform Coalition (1975-80).

We also hold copies of the Greg Weir papers at the National Library of Australia, the scrapbooks of Monte Punshon from the 1920s and 1930s, Tommy McDermott’s photos of camp life in Melbourne from the 1940s to the 1960s, papers of poet Lyn Palmer, and the scrapbook of the organisers of the Australasian Lesbian Movement in 1970-72, among other collections.

Collection

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About us

The Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives is the biggest repository of historical materials about LGBTIQ experience in Australia. The Archives was established in 1978. It is a volunteer, community-based organisation

The Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives gratefully acknowledges the support of Thorne Harbour Health (formerly VAC)

Acknowledgment of Country

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which Melbourne today stands – the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation and acknowledge the historic injustices to which they have been subjected.